Tis the Season
by cometshadow
Summary: Christmastime in the Freedomverse! Under the cover of Lostlorn Forest, Fallow and the rebels celebrate Christmas away from the watchful eyes of the National Police and the President in the oppressive Unova region. (companion one-shot to my story, Born for Freedom)


Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.

Reminder: Keep in mind that none of this is actually canon in Born for Freedom. This is just a drabbly present for everyone that has reviewed and followed this story :)

I guess I was the only sane rebel alive, because everyone (even Cheren) decided that it would be a splendid idea to host a rebellion-wide Christmas celebration. Sure, the rebels had been cooped up inside the safe houses for too long and we needed a reason to spark a new hope and fervor for the cause, but this was completely ridiculous and ill-advised. If the Regulation Force caught any wind of this gathering, we'd be better dead than living. There would be no hope for Unova's freedom. Everything would be for naught.

But I guess the opinion of the so-called leader wasn't important enough to even consider, because here I and Luxio were with every rebel in the entire Unova region congregated in the middle of Lostlorn Forest.

The amount of people in this small area was astounding and entirely overbearing. I felt like a shaken-up soda can, about to burst into hysterics and madness if I was touched by some person I didn't know one more time. As I traveled, I had become more comfortable with larger groups of people, but the sheer magnitude of hundreds of voices and bodies was unsettling and entirely out of my comfort zone. Luckily, I had Luxio beside me, calming me down with every step, but even he was feeling overwhelmed. It didn't help that Iris had dragged me right into the middle of the massive party.

"Lighten up, Fallow!" she yelled as she slapped me on the back with what was supposed to be a good-natured slap, but felt more like a Wake-up slap. "This is a party to celebrate... uh... What are we celebrating, again?" Much to my distaste and horror, she staggered around in a tipsy state, a glass of eggnog splashing onto her hand and her deep purple dress.

It was horrifying because there wasn't even any alcohol at this party.

As she was still latched firmly on to my arm, she began to dance rather awfully to the cheesy, classic Christmas music that played somewhere from the inside the forest. I frantically looked around for anyone to loosen Iris's grip on my arm before she wrenched it out of its socket. But everywhere I looked, I only saw cheerful, dancing rebels that were too enamored with each other to pay any attention to me, which I appreciated, but not at the given circumstances. Perhaps I could get Luxio to send a gentle electric pulse...

No. Fallow, you are not about to consider electrocuting one of the greatest Champions Unova ever had.

Sighing, I tried to ignore the stretching pain in my arm and Iris's horrid, off-key singing and instead focused on the party. Although I was uncomfortable with the great mass of people, I couldn't help but smile at how happy they all looked. The Floccessy safe housers intermingled with those from Relic Castle and White Forest, and everyone seemed like they somehow knew each other, like they were long-lost friends meeting each other for the first time in years. From what I could see from my lack of height, many people were dancing and singing and laughing, enjoying each others' company and the exciting music. Some people were even exchanging brightly wrapped presents while others were shoving people together under a mysterious mistletoe that had appeared out of nowhere. I laughed aloud as an elderly man from Relic Castle gently brought an elderly woman (who I guessed was his wife) under the mistletoe and kissed her right on the lips. Everyone around them hooted and hollered as the couple continued in their kiss. The moment was so tender and beautiful that I found myself cheering silently inside. What a strange thing love was. I wondered if I could ever find someone who loved me like the man loved his wife.

But before I could lose myself in my thoughts, I saw a familiar black cowlick not far off in the crowd. "Oi! Cheren!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. I had to bring my hand up to my mouth to cover up my loud laughter as he wheeled around straight into a dancing couple. He spluttered an apology with a red face as he stalked over to me.

"And what exactly can I do for you?" he hissed through clenched teeth. His hatred for me was so great, beautiful, and fun to poke at.

"Could you please detach this woman from my arm out of the goodness of your shriveled, black heart?" I asked with devilish glint in my grey eyes, batting my eyelashes a few times to fan his fire of contempt for me. "I would appreciate it oh so very much."

He scoffed as he crossed his arms. "Why would I do anything to help you? What benefit would I gain from helping you?"

Sighing, I shook my head at him. He was almost as stubborn as I was, so this would be a challenge to convince him to take care of Iris for the rest of the night. A new idea popped into my head, and I looked down at Luxio, who stared backup at me with large, golden eyes. "Would you care to show our dear friend Cheren just how happy he would be if he did this for us rather than run away like cowardly Poochyena?"

Cheren's eyes widened in fear as my precious Luxio stepped toward him menacingly, electricity crackling in the air. "Fine, fine! I'll help you!" he yelped, holding his hands up in fear. "Just don't let this thing hurt me!"

I smiled at him sweetly with a hint of malice. "I knew you'd understand. Now come over here and get Iris off of me!" By now, Iris had swayed past the lines of tipsy and now she was completely drunk, singing horridly off-key and splashing her drink on any unfortunate person that came a bit too close to us. Seriously, there was absolutely no alcohol in sight, so how in the world did she ever get so drunk?

As a grumbling Cheren gently pried her grip off of my arm, she stumbled and fell, throwing her arms akimbo to try and catch herself. Low and behold, a bottle flew out of her sleeve and rolled to a stop right in front of my feet. I read the label:

Vodka.

Well, that explains why she was so drunk already.

Cheren looked at me with a horrified expression, finally realizing that he would have to deal with a drunk Iris for the rest of the night, or at least until she passed out. Just as he opened his mouth to yell at me, I sprinted away from him, squeezing myself through the crowd of raucous celebrators, Luxio right behind me. Finally, just as I thought the wave of people would never end, we broke through the edge and leaned up against one of the massive trees in the forest, trying to catch our breath. Since we were away from the crowd of people now, I shivered from the cool air and wrapped myself in my faded grey flannel that belonged to my brother once.

Audun may have been a Regulation Force officer, but he was still my brother, and I missed him. This would be my eighth Christmas without him. Of course, no one knew about him other than Iris and that creepy Royden guy from Nimbasa, but Iris was completely wasted, and I didn't trust that Royden guy at all. There was no one I could talk to about him. No one knew the emptiness that sat inside me whenever I thought of him.

Before I could reach the point of no return in my self-pity, I heard a strange noise amidst the singing and beating of the music. It faintly sounded like some type of wooden contraption, but I couldn't quite place my finger on what it was exactly. Motioning for Luxio to follow me, I strayed farther into the forest to find the sound.

Luckily, I didn't have to go too far, because on the other side of the tree, I saw Themis sitting cross-legged in front of a flat, wooden board. Her left hand supported her head as her right hand spun what looked like a top with strange letters on the board absentmindedly. She sighed every time the top fell of the board, flicking her braided blonde hair off of her shoulder every time it fell in front of her face. Her forever-loyal Growlithe always retrieved the top and brought it back to her. In a few words, she looked miserably bored.

"Hey, Themis," I called out to her carefully. "How's it going?"

The top fell of the board once more, falling on to the ground with a soft thump. She sighed and picked it up. "Oh, nothing much. Just trying to occupy myself so I don't die of complete boredom, but, y'know, it's all fine. Just... fine." Sighing once more, she began to fiddle with the spinning top, running her thumb along the strange letters on the side of it.

I looked at Luxio, and we frowned at each other. Themis, like me, was an introvert, so I could see why she felt uncomfortable with all of the people. Heck, I wasn't feeling too comfortable with everyone that was here, but she was acting unnaturally somber. I sat down beside her, leaning on the tree, and said, " What's wrong? Do you not feel very well?"

"Hah!" she laughed humorlessly. "I feel fine, better than I usually do. But I'm not much of a party person. Besides, I'm Jewish, so I don't really have anything to celebrate at the moment."

"I didn't know that," I said a bit lamely. I stroked Luxio, trying to find something to say. He nudged my backpack toward me, and I got an idea. "Hey, I know you guys don't really exchange gifts, but don't consider this as a gift. Think of it more like I'm just returning something that I borrowed."

Themis widened her tired grey eyes as I took out the dagger she had given me when I left the Floccessy safe house. Taking it into her hands, she said, "I forgot that I gave this to you..."

"Yeah, I've never really had to use it that much, but it helped me deal with a nasty bout of homesickness. I thought it was time that I returned it to you," I said, a soft smile on my face. Themis was a good person, and I didn't want her to have a sucky holiday while everyone else was celebrating.

"Thanks, kid," she said. But then she did something that surprised me: she handed it back. "But I want you to keep it. It'd be rude of me to take back something that I gave to you rightfully. Besides, you never know when you may have to use it, especially when your mortal enemy is Alain."

All I could do was stare at her in shock. Then, I launched myself at her, enveloping her in a hug. "Thanks, Themis. You have no idea how much that means to me."

She stiffened when I touched her, and I knew that she wasn't one for physical touch. But just as I began to retract myself, she loosely wrapped her arms around me, returning the awkward hug. "You're a good kid, Fallow."

I smiled as we finally broke apart, and I stood up with Luxio by my side. "I'll see you around, Themis. Whenever you need me, I'll come, no matter where I am." Knowing that she didn't like super sentimental moments, I walked away with Luxio before she had to reply. Holding the dagger tightly in my right hand, I prepared myself for the onslaught of people all waiting to talk to me.

"Fallow!"

I wheeled around just in time to see two people in awful, tacky Christmas sweaters tackle me to the ground. All of the breath escaped from my lungs in one big huff, and I groaned in pain under the two bodies that were still laying on top of me. As I tried to wiggle my way out of the tiny dog pile, Luxio sniffed me worryingly. I had a bad history with people tackling me.

"We've been searching for you everywhere! Where have you been?" said one, loud voice.

Immediately, the other person with a sweet voice began to speak. "You haven't been around all night, and all we wanted to do was talk to you!"

Right away, I knew who they both were. There were only two girls that were of the same mind and were so bold as to tackle me and not get up. Trying not to groan too much in pain, I said, "Hello Amy, hello Faith. It's great to see you guys too. Now, if you would be so kind as to remove yourselves from your current positions on top of me, I and my lungs would be much obliged."

"Oh, sorry!" squeaked Faith as both she and Amy scrambled up.

Sucking in a breath of fresh, cold air, I slowly stood up and placed a hand on Luxio, who was still worried that I may have hurt myself again. Holding my arms open, I told them both, "Now come give me a proper hug. Gently." They both immediately wrapped their arms around me and I smiled in contentment. "That's much better than our first interaction. I've missed you guys so much."

"We've missed you too, Fallow," said Amy as she pulled herself away. Then, she punched me rather firmly in the arm.

Yelping in a mixture of surprise and pain, I said, "What the crap was that for?"

"Why have you barely written to us?! You promised us that you'd talk to us and tell us about your trip, but we've only received one letter. One freaking letter, Red!" she exclaimed, crossing her arms as she stared down at me. If there was one thing that I did not miss about Amy, it was that she felt like she had superiority because of her towering height over me.

Faith punched me in my other arm, luckily much more lighter than Amy's punch. "Do you know how worried we were? We didn't know if you were dead or alive, or how Luxio was doing!" Faith, ever the healer, leaned down to inspect Luxio for any injuries that he may have suffered from. He just barked happily and rubbed his head against her hand, drinking up all of the attention that he was receiving.

"You know that you guys would be the first to know if something had happened to me. It's like you have some sixth sense about my current health status or something," I said.

They both glared at me.

"Fine!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands up in the air. "I'm sorry that I didn't write to you, and I'm sorry that you didn't know whether I was dead or alive. But we're all here now, everything is okay, and it's Christmas!" I said, desperately trying to get them to forget about any animosity towards me. "It's a time for presents and friendship and forgiveness. You know, forgiveness is one of the greatest gifts of all, especially around the holiday season! Forgiving each other can be all a person needs, and it has great healing properties! It also mends friendships, gets rid of any hostility, and-"

"We get it! You can stop now!" yelled Amy, slapping her hand over my mouth to stop me.

"You're forgiven!" said Faith. "Geez, I forgot just how stubborn you really are."

I just smiled at the both of them. "It's one of my more endearing qualities. And you guys could never hold a grudge against me for that long, anyways."

"Wanna test that, Red?" said Amy, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes at me. "I bet that I could beat you in stubbornness any day. You don't have anything on me."

"You're on," I said, a competitive glint in my grey eyes. She was totally going down, the sucker.

"There is no need for that!" interjected Faith, pushing her way between us as we were in a staring competition with one another. "Come on, Amy, let's go find someone else to bother. Besides, it seems like Fallow has a queue of people lined up to talk to her."

Widening my eyes, I slowly turned around to see that at least twenty people were standing behind me, all staring at me in hopes of speaking to me. Feigning calmness, I turned back toward Amy and Faith. I gulped, placed a hand on Luxio, and said, "It has been lovely catching up with you two, but I am going to run away now." And I took off at a dead sprint to through the crowd of dancing, merry people to get away from the horde of rebels that wanted to talk to me.

Eventually, I came to a slow halt beside the refreshment table, breathing heavily and making sure that no one else was following after me. Looking down at my side, I was alarmed to see that Luxio was no where in sight. Just as I was about to call out to him desperately, I thought better of it, and just grabbed some food instead. Luxio was a big Pokemon. He could take care of himself. I munched away happily at the moist, sweet cookie that I had grabbed and directed my attention across the sea of people. Bobbing my head slowly along to the cheery music, I closed my eyes in contentment.

"You know, people will begin to think you're off your rocker if you sit by yourself awkwardly dancing," said a haughty voice, interrupting me from my delightful doze. "I mean, I already think you're pretty psychotic, but you've reached a whole new level of strange."

Immediately, I recognized that arrogant tone. I didn't even bother to open my eyes as I replied, "I may be a tad eccentric, but at least I'm an enjoyable person to be around, unlike you, Lucas."

He scoffed as he sat down in the seat to my right, while Wolf (who was accompanying him) sat down on my left. Lucas said, "Now I remember why I hated you so much. Relic Castle was so much better once you left."

"Oh, please. If I my memory serves me correctly, then you were adamant that I would write back to you guys no matter what. And that you would always support me. Admit it, you love me," I teased, wiggling my finger in front of his face. He just glared at me and slapped my hand away. "But I see that your bitter mood has not changed at all. Wolf fell down on his job. He promised that he'd keep you in line."

"Excuse me?" said Wolf in an aghast voice to my left. "I'll have you know that I worked extremely hard to make him into a gentleman. He doesn't grimace when I force him to shake peoples' hands anymore! And he has finally learned how to compliment others. Lucas, tell Fallow that she looks nice."

Lucas glared at Wolf, but crossed his arms and looked at me. After a few seconds of tense silence, he finally said, "You don't look as bad as usual."

I couldn't help but burst out laughing whilst Wolf dropped his head into his hands and groaned. Lucas smiled cockily at us and directed his attention toward the group of dancers."Well, he's a lost cause no matter what happens. But he does have something to give you," said Wolf as he reached across me to nudge him, "don't you, Lucas?"

"Don't talk to me as if I'm five years old!" he snarled angrily, looking very much like an annoyed Meowth. It was quite hilarious. But he begrudgingly muttered something unintelligible and began to walk toward another person that sat in a chair farther down than ours. The kid was bent over what looked like a book, and he was chewing absentmindedly on his fingernails in anticipation. My eyes widened when I finally recognized him.

"Chase!" I called out as I stood up. He whipped his head toward me, a relaxed smile sliding onto his face once he saw me. Aww, he was so cute. Pushing Lucas out of the way, I ran toward Chase and sat in the seat next to him, giving him a quick, awkward side hug. "Are you still reading that old book I gave you a long time ago?"

He blushed as I hugged him, and he closed my old copy of _King Arthur and His Knights_. "A-actually, this is the fifth time I've read it."

Lucas scoffed as he stood in front of us, Wolf trailing along behind him. "Yeah, he's obsessed with that awful piece of literature. He doesn't go anywhere without it."

"Shut up, Luke," said Wolf as he slapped Lucas on the back of his head. "Let's not be too quick to forget that when Fallow read to us back at Relic Castle, you could hardly breathe in anticipation at the end of it. Besides, you get Chase to read it out loud to you whenever you get the chance." We all laughed as Lucas blushed a bright red color and began spluttering excuses.

"Hey, Fallow," said Chase in a quiet voice as he nudged my side gently, "we all have a present to give you."

I cocked my head to the side as I looked at all three of them. Wolf held out a small, square package wrapped in bright green paper. "Gosh guys, that's really sweet, but you didn't have to get me anything! I didn't really get anything for you all..." I trailed off awkwardly as I grabbed the package, looking down as I tugged on my insanely unruly red hair.

"Just open it," snapped Lucas, who was still blushing slightly.

The loud, sharp sound of ripping paper filled the air as I unwrapped my present. I was never one for surprises, and I was feeling a tad apprehensive about opening the gift. I tended to be let down by them. But my eyes filled with salty tears as the paper unwrapped to reveal a well-worn, thick leather book. I stared in awe at the beautifully bound spine, grazed my fingertips over the smooth leather and rough pages, and deeply inhaled the old, homely scent that always surrounded books. I could barely speak.

"Guys," I whispered quietly, "it's so beautiful. How did you get this?" Wolf shook his head as I looked at him, and Chase avoided my gaze as I stared at him. Surely they were the ones that got it.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, Red, but I'm actually the one that procured that specific book," said Lucas proudly as I looked up to him in disbelief. "It's a novelized history on the story of Jeanne d'Arc, or Joan of Arc, as you probably know her. I figured that since people saw you as King Arthur, then perhaps we should make an even better comparison. But I swear, if you get yourself killed in this bloody rebellion, I will resurrect your sorry face only to kill you once-Hey!"

I cut him off as I enveloped him in a big hug. He stiffened when I first hugged him, but he slowly returned it. I muttered a quiet, "Thank you," and he "hmmphed" in reply. Then, I felt a warm pressure from behind as Wolf hugged me from the back, and Chase stood up and hugged us from the side. It was one big group hug and it was great.

I reluctantly pulled back after a bit to wipe off some tears that had fallen from my eyes. "You guys are the best."

"We know," said Wolf casually, a cocky grin on his face.

Giggling quietly whilst I held my book to my chest, I told them, "I should probably get to finding Luxio. I lost him in the crowd earlier, and he's probably electrocuted dozens of people by now. I'll see you guys around."

"Good luck!" said Wolf as he slapped me lightly on the back. "If you ever need any help, you know you can always call us."

"We may not be much, but we'll help you no matter what," agreed Chase as he held onto his new book tightly as well.

Lucas scoffed for what was, probably, the twentieth time that night. "I'm sure Red can handle herself. Besides, she'd mutilate us if we ever tried to tell her she couldn't do something herself."

"Very true," I said, laughing. "So long, boys." Waving to them, I skirted along the edges of the crowd, keeping a sharp eye out for Luxio.

I finally saw Luxio about fifteen minutes after I had left the guys. He was clearly agitated as he stood beside two people I had never expected to see at this party. But before I could call out to them, Luxio spotted me, and I was able to brace myself accordingly before he promptly tackled to me to the ground, frantic with worry.

"I swear, Luxio! You have the worst separation anxiety out of any person or Pokemon I've ever met!" I exclaimed, feigning annoyance. He just ignored me and continued to nudged his head against mine. I could never be annoyed at him. He was entirely too precious for this world.

After a few moments, someone gently prodded Luxio off of me and held out a hand to me. The deep, quiet voice said, "Need some help?"

I grabbed Christian's strong hand for some support as I finally stood off the ground. Now don't judge me, but after he pulled me up, I "tripped," causing me to "fall" into Chris's very strong, very manly arms. It was like the legendary gods were singing in harmony as he wrapped those beautiful arms around me, and I smiled in contentment as I said, "Thanks, Chris."

He merely raised an eyebrow and stood me straight up on my feet once more. "That Pokemon has been standing with us for the last forty-five minutes frantically looking for you. I'm surprised he didn't electrocute everyone in the vicinity with how agitated he was."

"Sorry," I said as I brushed the dirt and grass off of my jeans. "I got caught up in a bit of something."

"Did that 'something' just happen to be a mob of rebels all vying for chances to speak to you tonight?" said a voice from behind me, a voice that I had not hear in a very long time.

"Why, yes it did, Elin," I said as I turned around toward the boy. "If a crowd of people had stood behind you for ten minutes, slowly inching toward you and taking up you personal space, I think you'd run too."

He held up his hands in surrender. "Hey, I never said anything condescending about that," he replied cheekily. A small glint of mischief lingered behind his eyes. "It's a tremendous honor to be able to speak to the esteemed leader of our great rebellion on a night of festivities such as this. For I am merely a poor, low-ranking member in the shadows compared to your enrapturing, highly-respected position in our organization. Whatever have I done to deserve this great honor?"

I rolled my eyes as I punched him playfully in the shoulder. "Remind me of why I'm friends with you again?"

"Some people tell me that I am devilishly handsome and charming," he said as he winked at me. "Handsome and charming enough to make anyone forget about Alain's good looks and demeanor."

Chris laughed as he crossed his wonderful arms. "If by handsome and charming they mean gawky and awkward, then yes. Anyone could beat Alain with the appearance and personality of an anorexic Bidoof."

I had to cover my mouth in laughter at Elin's crestfallen face. He placed a hand on his heart and wore a wounded expression on his face. "Oh, how you insult me so!" But the ever-stoic Chris just stared at him in complete apathy with his arms still crossed over his chest.

As a comfortable silence settled over us, I began to pet Luxio's course fur from where he sat right beside me. Just as I was about to speak, I saw a sight that completely baffled me, and I lost whatever coherent thought I was about to form.

Elin, Chris, Luxio, and I all stared in confusion as a red-faced Duff and his snickering Zorua pushed a massive present across the ground in front of us. He was breathing heavily, and a thin sheen of sweat covered his face from the exertion. Every few seconds, he would pause to take a breath and wipe his face off, but would continue to push the gift across the grass. Finally, I was able to gather my thoughts and say something.

"Hey, Duff?" I called out. "What, uh... What are you doing?"

He stood up to his full height (which, need I remind you, is three inches shorter than me) and looked at each of our confused faces. A mischievous smile tugged at the edge of his lips as he held a finger up and placed it beside his nose. Then, he said, "Watch this."

I exchanged an equally dumbfounded look with Elin as we continued to watch as Duff struggled to push the humongous present. Finally, he stopped pushing the box right as it reached a floating pink Pokemon. Quickly, he and his Zorua sprinted over to us as we watched the Frillish float around the box, prodding it every few seconds.

Leaning down toward Duff, I began to ask him what he had done, but he shushed me before I even opened my mouth. So I continued to watch as the Frillish finally floated back around to the front after a bit of poking and prodding the package.

Then, she began to use her Psychic powers to slowly unwrap the gift. Exchanging one last glance with Elin, I watched as the paper began to peel away from the massive, cardboard box and the bow untangled itself at the top. The only sound that we could hear was the low, Christmas music, the distant murmurings of party guests, and Zorua snickering. Finally, the Frillish levitated the top off of the box, and I actually snorted when Volantes's head popped out of the top. If only Lucas had given me a camera so I could have taken a picture of the Frillish's face when she saw him and Volantes's horrified expression, I would've kept that picture framed on my wall until the day that I died. I could hear his distant, muffled screams of horror as Sapphire, his Frillish, wrapped her tentacles around him and carried him off into the woods.

I may have been imagining things, but I swear I heard Volantes yell death threats as he was taken deeper and deeper into the woods.

I couldn't hold my giggles in any longer as I Duff, Elin, and Chris all began to howl in laughter at the sight that had just unfolded before us. Surprisingly, Chris snorted a lot when he laughed, Elin fell to the ground holding his stomach in laughter, and Duff was completely silent as he laughed. No sound came out of his mouth. I had to wipe tears from my eyes as I finally was able to compose myself.

"You know, you're gonna have to go save him eventually," I said to Duff, chuckling every few seconds when I replayed the scene over and over again.

"Key word: Eventually," he replied with tears in his eyes.

Elin shakily stood up from the ground and slapped Duff good-naturedly on the back. "Bravo to you, sir. I don't think I've ever seen Volan so... emotional before."

"Well, I didn't do this entirely on my own," Duff replied. He turned toward Chris and said, "I needed some help to find the perfect target, and Chris, here, supplied the prime victim."

Elin and I stared in wonder and bafflement at Chris. How could the steadfast, stoic Chris ever ally himself with a notorious thief and prankster?

"Well, I should probably do as you said and go find Volantes before there's nothing left of him to find," said Duff as he rubbed his hands together. He turned to me and saluted and said, "Merry Christmas."

"Best part of the night by far," said Elin as we watched the thief and his Zorua traipse into the woods to find our lost friend. "I'm just confused as to how a guy of his height could possibly ever put Volan in a box of that size, much less push him across the ground!"

"I think it's best if we don't question it or think about it, and just accept the fact that it happened," replied Chris.

I'd have to keep an eye on Chris. There were many different sides to him that I didn't know.

"Oh, by the way, Red," said Elin as he pulled something from his back pocket, "Remember Dylan, that NatPol officer from Virbank City? Well, he told me to give these things to you, and he told me to tell you 'Merry Christmas' and to 'stay away from any large bodies of water', whatever the heck that means."

I stared, wide-eyed, at the thick letter he gave me. Opening the envelope, I saw that there was one, thin note, a necklace, and a thick letter. I grabbed the necklace first and admired it. The silver outline of a pair of wings hung from a thin silver chain. It was simple, but absolutely stunning.

"Can you put this on for me, Elin?" I asked as I handed him the necklace. He took it from me and I moved my hair as he wrapped it around my neck and clasped it together.

Glancing at the smaller note, I saw that it said, "Merry Christmas, Red. Consider this a gift from Tara and me to represent your weird love for freedom. We miss you a lot. Sincerely, Dylan. PS- The other letter is a surprise from someone." I couldn't help but chuckle quietly at the shortness of the note. It reflected Dylan's personality perfectly. But I was confused as to who the thick letter was from. Surely it wasn't from Tavon and Arabella, because they had just sent me a letter a couple of days earlier. I frowned as I examined the neat, precise handwriting on the other note.

"You okay, Fallow?" asked Chris quietly, breaking me out of my concentration.

"Yeah, sorry," I said shaking my head. "I'm just trying to figure out who this note is from. The handwriting isn't familiar to me."

Elin grabbed the thick envelope from me as he looked at my name on the front of it. "Can't say that I've ever seen it before." Chris nodded, agreeing with Elin.

Scrunching my eyebrows together, I took the letter back. "Well, I guess the only way to find out is to read it. So if you two gentlemen will excuse me, I'm going to go see who this suspicious person is."

"Okay, then," said Elin, still a tad wary about the letter. But he shook his head and enveloped me in a hug. "I've missed you, Fallow. Come visit me soon, okay? Two months is entirely too long to be apart."

"If you go back to Floccessy, then you have to come to Relic Castle, too," said Chris as he wrapped me up in his muscular, beautiful arms. "We've missed you too."

I pulled back, albeit, reluctantly. Patting Luxio's head, I said, "I promise I'll come back soon, guys. I'll see you around."

After Luxio and I had walked for a few minutes into the darker parts of the forest away from everyone, I finally settled myself down at the roots of a massive tree. Luxio snuggled into my side, placed his head on my lap, and fell asleep. Before I opened the letter, I took a few minutes to catch my breath from the party. Now that I was out of sight and earshot from the celebration, I was finally able to relax away from the hordes of people. Breathing deeply, I opened up the letter and began to read by the light of the full moon.

"Dear Fallow,

"I have never really been much of one for writing letters, but seeing as how we haven't stumbled upon each other in a few weeks, I decided that the best way to contact you was in a letter. So here goes nothing.

"Looking back on the last time that we were together, I noticed that I was an idiot, a jerk, and frankly, an ass to you. A letter is probably not the greatest means of communication for an apology, but I don't know when I'll get to see you next, and I needed to apologize to you before my brain completely deteriorated. You have been nothing but open and supportive of me whenever you're around, and I didn't treat you with respect. My father raised me better, and I know that I could've handled things much better that how I did. I guess I was just worried about the citizens' attack on us in Nimbasa and that you were hurt and I wasn't clear-minded like I usually am. But then again, that doesn't really excuse my harsh, rash nature toward you, and I'm sorry.

"Truth be told, I don't know what to do when I'm around you. When I'm with you, I am not plagued by thoughts or worries surrounding the Regulation Force or that silly Rebellion. I'm just... me. And I don't know whether to be alarmed or content because I've forgotten what it's like to just be myself. But then I guess that it's a good thing, since I told you so many weeks ago that I didn't know who I actually was, but I feel like I'm right there at the edge, right at the cusp of my identity. That same day, you asked me what brings me joy, what makes me feel like I've made an impact, what makes me feel whole. I still don't have an answer for you or me, but I know what I do want.

"I want to be free of all this obligation that I was born into. I want to walk outside and not feel the fearful gazes of everyone around me. I want to do something where every decision I make doesn't put people in danger. I want to feel something other than contempt and apathy for once in my life. I want to be free, Fallow. I want to be free like you. But how can I be free when my only companions are chains? How do I break out of them? I don't know what to do. I want so much, but I cannot have it. I cannot have any of it.

"But most of all, I cannot have you. You, who seems to have an impact on everything that I do. You, who shows up in my life at the strangest times but shows up when I need you the most. You, who goes through life with your head in the clouds and feet on the ground. You. I cannot even begin to understand you. You are like the wind. A gentle, calming breeze one second, but then a turbulent, fearsome hurricane the next. You come from nowhere and disappear into nowhere. How do you live with this sort of passion? How do you even exist?

"I do not know, and I do not think I ever will.

"Sincerely,

"Alain."

**The end! Sorry that this took so long, you guys. I've had a rough couple of weeks and I've been so stressed for so long! **

**So here's the one-shot that I promised you all. It's not as great as I hoped, but it is very light-hearted and there's a bit of humor to it, so it's a bit of a change from the normal story! Plus a lot of OCs come back in this one (sorry if yours wasn't in here! I couldn't find a place to put everyone!) I really hope you guys liked it!**

**Please let me know your thoughts, your critiques, and your angry rants about how pointless this thing was in the review section! I love everything equally :)**


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